The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-04-29
JAY GOULD AND HIS SYSTEM
How a Tour of Inspection Over His
Southwestern Lines Is Conducted.
Journeying Five Thousand Miles on His OwE
Railways, on the Beautiful Private Car
Convoy, and Travelling Like a Rocket.


the nucleus of his present Southwestern system
of railroads, and rs the rival of the Wabash
through considerable territory was the Missouri
Pacific, he felt by no means at ease regarding
the ultimate fate of his venture. Commodore
Garrison owned controlling interest in Missouri
Pacific, which was managed by his brother Oil
yer. Commodore Garrison did not like Mr..
Gould, and would not have objected to make
Gould's purchase of Wabash dear bargain. He
probably would have done SO had it not been for
Oliver Garrison. The latter and Ben W. Lewis,
Gould's manager of the Wabash, were close
friends and Garrison, as chief executive of the
Missouri Pacific, did nothing to injure Gould's
property. But when Mr.. Lewis called upon
Mr.. Gould, in New York, day toward
the close of 1879 and rendered his resignatio
on the ground of other interests which claimed
his attention. Gould Immediately saw breakers
ahead and said SO. Lewis suggested that he re-
move the breakers by buying the control of Mis-
souri, Pacific. The suggestion was not allowed
to get moldy. Gould called upon Oliver Garri-
son and offered 81. 500 600 for the Garrison inter-
est in the road. Garrison was much surprised,
and said it would be necessary to consult with
the Commodore. He said, however, that ST.
500, 900 was at least $500. 600 too low. When the
Commodore heard of Gould's offer ne rubbed
his hands. laughed and put the price at s., $780,
900. Gould retorted that he could have bought
it on the previous day for 81, 600, 900. The Com
modore explained that the difference be-
tween yesterday and to-day 100000.
Gould said nothing and retired. He made an
other effort on the following day. The Commo-
dore had been thiHking His thoughts cost Mr..
Gould 81, 900. 600, for his price on the third day
of the negotiations was So. 800, 600. Mr.. Gould
did not express his thoughts. but his speech
demonstrated that he appreciated the danger
and expense of delay He said. 'I'll take it,"
md he Tbf,cf royy hoOi yof Lace hou
1000 miles, he secured control of a system of
over 5000. forming the Missouri Pacific, Iron
Mountain, and International & Great Northern
and their branches into one compact system.
The bargain, in comparison with the present
value OF the property, was as close one as Mr.
Gould ever managed to make. and from the day
it was closed he has lost no opportunity of ex-
tending his railroad property, which. with lines
that are yet in paper, but almost certain to
be built Is soon likely to embrace at least 5000
miles of rail.
Although the general managers Office is at St
Louis and none Of the Gould roads-for the
Wabash is not considered in the system-run
east of the Mississippi. nothing of Importance is
transacted there without the knowledge and
sanction of Mr.. Gould. Private wires run from
the st. Louis Office to the Western Union Build
ine i'll which is Mr. Goulds private Office, where
ne spends some hours each day sitting at desk
that never ought to have cost more than $25
He has travelled many times over every mile
of his railroads There is an immensely of in
time. even the second or third but it has been
made often by Mr.. Gould that he has thor
oughly absorbed all the pleasure to be obtained
from it except that which smacks of dollars and
| power. His trips occupy about three weeks
from the time his special car the Convoy. leaves
| St Louis until it returns to that hot and dusty
| city Of pageants and conventions.
When word is flashed to St Louis that Mr..
| Gould is on his way every official on the system
! packs his head full Of information, and there is
unwonted activity from Omaha to Galveston
and from Fort Worth to San Antonio. All of
the systems executive force was selected either
| by Mr. Gould or by trusted officials in whom he
had implicit faith, and the heads of divisions
| who work for jay Gould could not work harder
| for anybody else, although in some instances
their bank accounts do not show it.
Mr.. Gould lately was in the Southwest on a
| tour of inspection. On his trips ne is always
accompanied by General Superintendent Kerri-
gan, New Yorker by birth. Southwesterper
by education. Physically they in marked
| contrast. The cleanlv shaver, fair-complex-
toned superintendent would make two OF his
employer. In manner they are much alike,
though kerrigan has spice of bluffness that is
| lacking in the other. He has the composed, un-
excitable manner of Gould to perfection, and is
| never known, matter how great the pro-
vocation may be, to speak except
in a owptcned tone. He is walk
ing railroad encyclopedias, and has the
| Typographical features of the Southwest-every
corner of tat his fingers ends. He has been
| employed on railroads of the system for over
| thirty years. From his superintendent Mr.
Gould obtains such details as the latter gathers
| from the division superintendent and other Of
| ficials, but in making trip Mr.. Gould insists
| upon stopping at every point included in one of
Mr.. Kerrigans regular trips of supervision He
is always accompanied by a stenographer, who
is also a typewriter. and the superintendent
and heads of divisions follow the same plan.
Upon arriving at station at which it has
been decided to make an inspection, Mr.. Gould
asks how long stop will be made. The answer
ho h1,x~ M 14n1y 6,1
watch. He then accompanies the superintend-
ent part of his rounds, listens quietly to his
talk with the railroad officials of the place, and
having heard all he cares to listen to. wanders
around by himself while the superintendent
picks up the information which later he will
give to his employer. Mr.. Gould manifests nc
| impatience until the hour has been exhausted.
But If the engineer is not ready to start on the
minute, and all hands not in their places on
the car. he begins to idget, and is restless until
fresh start is made.
He is strong advocate of method. The days
work is laid out in the morning, and almost be-
fore the train starts in the morning he has set
tied how many stops can be made during the
day and wnere the night be spent He
dimes and sleeps on board his from the start
to the finish of three-weeks' trip. At might
the Convoy is run to the Quietest part of the
yard, as the owner objects to noise than
he can avoid at night. though he can apparently
stand as much as anyone ese in daylight His
car is always a curiosity along the line. and peo-
pie come from far and near to look at it as il
stands in the evening in secluded spot secure
in its loneliness. In some parts of the country
through which his roads run he is quite mucf
of curiosity in the eyes of the TRY folE as
circus, and were he to stand on the platform
after the manner Of James G. Blaine would at
tract quite as big crowd that gentleman
He is never apparently anxious to achieve toto
riety in that way, and is quite as modest in hi
demeanor while of his tours as he is il
his Office or his Flfth-avenue mansion In tn,
latter, few newspaper reporters know he il
more unassumlng and far more polite than
majority of his thousand-dollar employees
Mr.. Gould meets some odd as well promi
nent people on his trips. and occasionally has
peculiar experience. On his first visit to Gal
weston. Tex. he discovered that it was on al
island. Like good many others, he imagined
it was the mainland. On this occasion
number of citizens had been appointed to do hin
honor, and he had promised to take MP his quar-
tiers at hotel The committee had neglected t.
secure carriages for the party and made des
perate effort just before the arrival of his car
to repair the omission This it unable t.
do There election at Galveston on tina
particular day. 1t was hot one both the da
and the election, and everything on wheels ha
been bought up by the conteniing parties
Twenty dollars offered for a hack and re
fused The committee felt forlorn until Nj
Gould laughed at its dilemma and remarke
that he saw no hills that he couldn't climb. Thi
is the only joke charged against Mr.. Gould b
the people who live on the line of his roads, TO
the highest point of Galveston is only three fee
above the sea level The inhabitants claim fou